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November 6, 2009 10:02 AM PST

Vertical bed you can lug along for power naps

by Juniper Foo
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From the back, you'd think this man was injured and wearing some sort of neck and body brace.

(Credit: Substitute Materials)

We've heard of sleep pod facilities in New York for sleep-deprived cubicle dwellers seeking some shut-eye. But here's a way to have your power nap upright while still appearing to keep to the spirit of a city that never sleeps.

This crazy contraption--by the amusing one-man Office for the Development of Substitute Materials--was actually tried and tested during a 40-minute snooze along Broadway as part of the Conflux 2009 festival, a gathering of artists, technologists, and urban adventurers.

Out of the box, you have a vertical bed that attaches conveniently to any subway ventilation grating for prop support; opaque sunglasses; free standing brolly; and noise-canceling headphones. And it all collapses into a totable briefcase.

That said, this isn't as elegantly simple as Japan's chindogu (art of useless idea) solution, the Commuter Chin Stand. Plus, it's always a bad idea to catch 40 winks in the middle of the Big Apple, where you'll be easy pickings for light-fingered pickpockets who'll clean you of everything but the braces you stand in. In short, you snooze, you lose.

Vertical Bed

A man takes a 40-minute "nap" at Broadway and 33rd St. in New York as part of the Conflux 2009 festival. He must have an incredible talent for tuning out honking horns.

(Credit: Substitute Materials)

(Source: Crave Asia via DesignLaunches.com)

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by Certifiedfryguy November 6, 2009 11:20 AM PST
LOL
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by albertsoler November 9, 2009 7:46 AM PST
If I had an acquaintance, friend, or relative that is actually inclined to buy one of these things, I would strongly reconsider that relationship.
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by estemshorn November 9, 2009 11:52 AM PST
awesokme.
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